Daniel Week Three, Day Four Read Daniel 3:19-27 My family is notorious for not being able to make a decision. Every year it takes an act of God in order to determine when and where the annual Christmas party is going to be. While many of my family members seem completely comfortable in this type of environment, I am anything but comfortable. I like to know what’s coming up and what the plan is. I don’t like surprises. I want to know what I’m in for. This goes far beyond just Christmas parties and family dinners. When I face situations where I don’t know how it will turn out, I get uncomfortable because I want to know what’s next. After standing up to the king by not bowing down and worshipping the giant statue because of their faith in God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace. This was no ordinary furnace. It was heated up to seven times into normal temperature. It was so hot that the men who threw the three Hebrews in were killed on the spot by the flames. Shortly after, though, the king looked in and saw the young men in the middle of the fiery furnace completely unharmed. Not only that, there was a fourth figure in the furnace with them. The king then orders the three men to come out of the fire, and, when they come out, he sees that they weren’t harmed at all. This story illustrated one of greatest secrets of obedience to God. Our only responsibility is to obey Him. Any outcome or results is completely up to God. We can’t control it, but we get confused about this way too often. We want to be faithful, but we only want to be faithful if we are guaranteed that God will do exactly what we want Him to do. However, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that God was more than capable of saving them, but even if He didn’t, He was still just as powerful and in control. In this situation, God came through for them in a miraculous way because they were willing to obey even when the outcome was up in the air. When we don’t know what to expect in a situation, it can be pretty scary. In the face of truly difficult circumstances, though, we can rest assured that whether the outcome turns out to be exactly what we want or not, God is still right there with us. REFLECT: What is the most “fiery” test you can remember experiencing? How did it turn out? PRAY: Talk to God today about the areas of your life or in the lives of the people you are close in which the outcomes of the situation is up in the air. Share with Him what you would like the outcome to be, but commit to God that you will remain faithful to Him no matter what the outcome. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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